Object Details

Type

Paintings
(Paintings)

Accession Number

1993.185

Inscriptions

stamped, reverse UL and UR:“FROM THE ESTATE/OF/ANDY WARHOL”*present backing precludes seeing all of reverse for information; in ink, reverse UL and UR:“PA62.009”*present backing precludes seeing all of reverse for information

When I die I don’t want to leave any leftovers. I’d like to disappear. People wouldn’t say he died today, they’d say he disappeared. But I do like the idea of people turning into dust or sand, and it would be very glamorous to be reincarnated as a big ring on Elizabeth Taylor’s finger.–Andy Warhol, 1975

Though German artist Joseph Beuys’ (1921-1986) art is formally and thematically quite different from Andy Warhol’s, the two artists are frequently linked by critics who perceive them as possessing an almost alchemical ability to transform ordinary objects into valuable artworks. Both artists made work about the other. They never were close friends, but displayed an elaborate and wily respect for each other. Their first official meeting was in Düsseldorf in 1979; Warhol recorded the event in a snapshot of Beuys’ face that would soon materialize in a number of striking portraits, including this negative image flecked with glittery “diamond” dust. Warhol’s images of Beuys are among his many portraits of historical figures and celebrities, including Vladimir Lenin, Chairman Mao, Ludwig van Beethoven, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Elvis Presley, and Queen Elizabeth II.